


Prelude to a Kiss

by taralkariel



Category: Black Widow (Comics), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, mission gone awry, rom com (romantic communists), spies in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28614690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taralkariel/pseuds/taralkariel
Summary: Natasha and Bucky are on a mission for Maria Hill. Things go south and Nat has to get them out of there (and take care of him afterward)
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23
Collections: BuckyNat Secret Santa 2020





	Prelude to a Kiss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MissMorwen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMorwen/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy their on-mission flirting!

The operation started out simple enough. They had done dozens of these over the years – get in, get the intel, get out. So it shouldn’t have been a problem. They touched down at 1600 local time in a commercial airline – quinjets were not exactly subtle transportation – Nat knew her way around the city and had a safe house there. She had no shortage of those scattered throughout the world. James called them her web, which always made her smile.

James drove them out of town in a borrowed car (legally borrowed, of course), toward a complex of industrial buildings. It looked abandoned. It wasn’t. Natasha spotted two sentries and their briefing had suggested there would be quite a few more on the premises.

“First one to get spotted buys breakfast,” James teased as they parked a few hundred meters from the exterior fence.

“You’re on,” she laughed as she finished suiting up. She checked on her weapons one last time before a quick glance at James to make sure he was just as ready.

They slunk through the long grass around the place and spotted a third sentry making his rounds. Unless his routine was very sloppy, there were likely five men on duty. The fence was simple chain-link with barbed wire, standing about 9 meters from the 3-meter wall that surrounded most of the compound. It also had barbed wire on the top. Getting through the fence was easy – it was very climbable and maneuvering around the wire barely slowed them down. Their tac suits, not to mention James’ left arm, were more than capable of protecting them from a bit of sharpened wire.

There was just an open space of gravel between the fence and the wall, but Nat had timed it right so no sentries were currently in sight. James led the way at a jog, throwing himself against the concrete wall to check around the corner. Nat followed more slowly, on the lookout for anyone in the other direction. No one yet but she could hear the gravel crunching beneath approaching boots.

She reached James and gave him a nod when he glanced her way. He nodded back and then crouched to give her a leg up. The height of the wall was a bit of an impediment, and the wire more so. Nat stepped into his cupped hands and let herself be lifted up to the lip of the wall. She carefully snipped through the barbed wire with some wire cutters, pushing it to the side and then lifting herself onto the top of the wall. It was not very wide – only about 20 centimeters – but more than enough for her to balance.

A quick survey of her surroundings was the first order of business. The ground inside the compound was dirt, and they were right behind one of the outbuildings. If there were guards around, their eyeline was blocked by the roof of building. But a sentry was approaching their location so she fastened her grappling hook to the inside of the wall and anchored the barbed wire out of the way before tossing James the rope.

He scaled it quickly and she dropped down into the cramped space between the building and the wall. James retrieved the hook and unfastened the wire before following her. They waited in silence, holding their breaths as they listened for any indication they had been spotted. Nat smiled up at him, amused by how uncomfortable he looked in the tiny space.

“You okay?” she whispered when no irregular sounds greeted them.

James grimaced. “I’m sure this is very roomy for a tiny spider, but you can’t blame a guy for being a little claustrophobic.”

She was already leaning on him, so she leaned more heavily against his chest and looked up at him with doe eyes. “Maybe you’re just not taking advantage of the opportunity.”

He swallowed. “Natalia…”

A nearby shout effectively killed the moment and Nat took a second to regain her bearings. They had not been spotted, but there were people within a few meters of them, so they had best be silent. She crept to the edge of the building and peered around the corner to figure out their next move.

The courtyard between the buildings was mostly empty, with just three – no, four – people scattered around. Two were guards but the other two were wearing lab coats. One of these had been the shouter and was talking animatedly to the other one. The guards were looking on with bored expressions.

The scientists were standing right outside the main building, which was where she and James needed to go. The guards were stationed on either side of the main door. If there was another entrance, their intel had not included it. Getting through four people would not be challenge, of course, but it was better to make noise on the way out, not on the way into the facility. And better to make no noise at all. Hill did not want it obvious that this place had been hit.

So the two guards would have to go. Quietly. She moved back from her slightly exposed spot to stand next to James again. He raised his eyebrows at her and she smiled before motioning for him to wait. With a nod, he settled back against the wall. She counted to thirty before looking out again and was pleased to see that the scientists were gone.

“Two guards, need to take them out without giving them a chance to sound the alarm,” she whispered to James. “Probably best not to shoot them, so any ideas?”

“You go left, I go right, if they spot us, act before they can do anything about it,” he replied.

She nodded and they separated. She moved silently around the building and kept to the shadows as much as possible, creeping toward the guard on the left. She was mildly concerned about James being as stealthy as she was, given his size, but reassured herself that he had been a ghost for decades and his handlers couldn’t have taken care of everything, after all.

James reached his target first. And while he managed to keep his guard from noticing, hers was a bit more aware of their surroundings. The guard shouted and reached for his radio. She ran the remaining distance and jumped at his shoulders, knocking him to the ground before he could use the device. A quick punch rendered him unconscious and she got to her feet with a frown.

“Guess I’m buying breakfast,” James said from where he stood over his guard, also unconscious.

“No pancake houses,” she told him absently as she contemplated the door to the main building. So much for keeping anyone from knowing the place had been hit, she thought. There really wasn’t any way to disguise the fact that the guards had been attacked… She brushed the thought away – no sense worrying about cleanup on the first step of what might become a messy op.

The mechanism to gain access to the building was complicated but Nat had little trouble with it. While she worked, James pulled the guards back behind one of the smaller structures to delay any alarm. He rejoined her just in time – she grinned at her success as the door opened. There was a large open space just inside, which was mercifully empty. Nat recalled the schematics that had been part of the briefing and took the lead. They snuck along complicated corridors before finally reaching the head office.

It was night, so other than a smattering of people working late, the building seemed to be empty. And fortunately this remained true of their target – the office of the owner. It was a fancy one, lots of windows. Even the desk was made of glass. Nat hadn’t anticipated so much potential for observation while she was working on the safe and felt a glimmer of anxiety.

“Look for any hidden mechanisms – the safe is sure to be disguised,” she told James.

He nodded and they spread out, searching. It didn’t take her long to find a panel in the floor. It was under the large desk and would have been harder to find if said furniture had not been transparent. She got to work immediately and James wordlessly stood as lookout. Despite the foolish location of the thing, it was a fairly secure model. It would take her a few minutes to get open.

Perhaps because she was listening so intently to the shifting of tumblers, but she was the first to notice approaching footsteps. She turned to warn James when something metal rolled into the room. She didn’t wait to find out what it was, instead jumping up and running for the exit. She thought James had the same idea when he joined her, but instead he pushed into her and knocked them both to the ground, covering her.

Then there was an explosion.

Her ears were ringing. And her head hurt – a lot. She could hear shouting. James was breathing hard in her ear and she turned to look at him, registering the pain on his face. Time to get out of here.

She surged to her feet, drawing her weapons. There were guards darting about, getting into position. Best not to let them complete the maneuver. She opened fire and was relieved to hear James do the same. Her aim was a little off, and the gunfire did little to relieve her ringing ears, but she made do. Enough to retake the room, though the remaining guards got off a few shots before she took them down.

“Come on, James.” She slid her shoulder under his and helped him to his feet. His right hand tightened on her shoulder while his left got a better grip on his gun. It was not an ideal model to use one-handed, but she was sure he could manage. And, worst case, his arm itself could be a useful weapon.

The safe was still firmly locked and Nat didn’t particularly care to take another swing at it. Steadying James, she started out the door. It was a long painful trip back through the compound and she was displeased that it required leaving so few alive in their wake – most of them were just employees, after all. But it was necessary to shoot first in this situation. Or so she told herself – it could have just been her anger at herself and at what they did to James. After several suffocating minutes, they were free of the building and stumbling back toward the car.

“Nice to go through the gate this time,” James muttered as he carefully placed his feet.

“Yeah, we should have just gone in that way,” she agreed in a lighthearted tone. But she looked up at him, concerned at the way his speech had slurred slightly. And at the fact that her arm was wet through her tac suit, so he had to be losing an alarming amount of blood. Super soldier or no, she needed to get him some medical attention immediately.

Bullets dinged off their hood and Nat took one last efficient shot before setting James in the passenger seat. She jogged around to the driver’s side and sped off as quickly as possible, though she was reasonably sure there was no danger of pursuers. The fact that they hadn’t actually stolen anything was one reason, but she was mainly thinking of how many of them she’d taken down.

“Stay awake, James,” she told him firmly, anxiously glancing over at him.

“I’m awake,” he replied in a far too wistful tone.

“Soldat, that’s an order.”

He sat up a little more automatically, then frowned at her. “That’s cheating.”

“I’m in charge of this op. I give the orders here, and I order you not to lose consciousness.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Yes, ma’am.”

She focused on her driving, trying not to jostle him, but it felt like an eon passed before she got to her safe house. Thankful for the cover of darkness, she half led, half carried James into her apartment. Once he was situated on the couch, she headed down to ditch the car a few blocks away before rushing back.

James eyes were closed when she came in the door again. “Soldat,” she said in her most authoritative tone.

Obedient for a change, he looked up at her. “Natalia…”

“Where are you injured?” There was a first aid kit in the kitchen, which she fetched without waiting for an answer.

“Back, mostly,” he replied, wincing.

“Let’s get your gear off so I can see the damage.” She was thankful for the fact that their tac suits were easy enough to zip off – especially when one was injured. He needed help getting his undershirt off, though, a sharp hiss escaping his lips when he tried on his own.

“Easy,” she told him. At least he wasn’t trying to convince her that he was fine, like so many of her teammates always did. False bravado got you killed, in her experience. If you were injured, there was no point in hiding it from your allies.

She looked over the damage to his back. The tac suit had caught most of the shrapnel, but a few nasty pieces were still embedded in his skin. And there was heavy bruising from the impact of those that had not pierced the suit.

“How’s it look, doc?”

“I don’t think you need to worry about lasting damage to your physique. You should still be able to go shirtless at the beach,” she teased. “Though you should check on the last time you had a tetanus shot.”

James snorted. “Chicks dig scars, so I’m sure this did my beach days a favor. Haven’t had a tetanus shot since the war.”

She carefully sterilized a needle and prepared to stitch the first of his wounds. “I didn’t realize they’d invented vaccines in those ancient days.”

“Yes, it was actually – ” he paused to wince and let out a breath as she pulled the thread tight. “It was a big effort to get all of us vaccinated. Really reduced how many people got tetanus and made more people accept the vaccine afterward.”

“That’s helpful,” she offered, mostly absorbed in removing shrapnel and stitching him back up before he could bleed much more. She should have tried harder to keep him talking, to distract him, but maybe she was just too damn worried. He remained silent, other than the occasional hiss or gasp. Finally, she was done.

“Sorry, Nat, I should have seen him coming.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she told him firmly as she cleaned up. His jaw clenched and she paused, watching him.

“I was on lookout, I shouldn’t have let someone sneak up and chuck a grenade at us.”

She sighed and sat down next to him. “We all get in scrapes now and then.”

His frown deepened. “You could have gotten hurt,” he said stubbornly.

“Well, I didn’t. You more than made up for any mistake.” Seeing he was unconvinced, she gently touched his cheek and turned him to look her in the eye. “Your quick thinking saved me, and we got out of there just fine. You have nothing to apologize for.”

“Nothing?” he echoed, leaning into her touch.

“Nothing,” she assured him, then turned to get up.

He caught her wrist and pulled her to him. “Because I am very good at apologies.”

Relenting, she settled into his lap and ran her fingers through his hair. “I was going to go debrief Hill while you rested. But I suppose I could wait, if you have something you want to get off your chest.” She moved her hand to caress the already exposed area and grinned at him.

Leaning gingerly against the couch, James returned her grin. “I can think of a couple things. But turnabout is fair play,” he added, settling his hands on her hips.

Debriefing Hill would just have to wait, Nat had more important things to do.


End file.
